Tips
For Cookie Baking by:
Dr. Freddy Maier
When deciding
to bake cookies, a lot of questions come to mind. How to use baking
powder. What is corn starch? What do I have to do if I don't find
some ingredients? Etc. In this article I will approach a few problems
and give some easy answers and tips.
You decided
to bake some cookies and at the last minutes a lot of questions
arise. Oven temperature, chewy or crispy cookies, eggs size, and
so forth. I tried in this short article to address a few common
problems and give a quick solution or an explanation.
How to Make
Chewy Cookies
The secret in
making any cookie recipe into a soft and chewy cookie is to use
Butter flavored Crisco instead of butter. If you want a crispy cookie
use butter. Another trick to have chewier cookies is to cut your
baking time by about 2 minutes (baked at the temperature stated
on the recipe. Your cookies should be baked through but not yet
crispy. You can also reduce your oven temperature by 25 degrees
and bake for the time stated on the recipe. Always bake one batch
according to the recipe the first time you try a new recipe and
then make the adjustments based on how it came out. Make a note
of your changes and keep your "customized" recipe for
the next time.
Baking Soda
or Baking Powder ?
Baking powder
is alkaline and needs to be mixed with acidic ingredients in order
to react. Baking powder is baking soda with an added acidic ingredient,
usually cream of tartar. In cookies, baking soda tends to make them
spread out more and baking powder tends to make them rise and become
puffy or more cake-like. If your recipe calls for baking soda, simply
try to reduce it a bit.
Make Chilled
Dough for Better Results
Make sure the
dough is chilled and the baking sheets are cool before putting them
in the oven. Otherwise the fat in the cookies will melt too soon,
resulting in flat cookies regardless of the leavener you are using.
Note that vegetable shortening (e.g. Crisco) melts a higher temperature
than butter. You can try then to substitute half the butter with
Crisco.
Beware of
nutritional information
You might one
day read a recipe that has, for example, 2 sticks of margarine or
butter. The nutritional information will read '0' cholesterol. Why
so? It is because the nutritional for recipes are calculated using
the first ingredient when two ingredients are given. For example,
when it says "margarine or butter", the nutritional are
calculated using margarine. If butter were listed first, it would
be calculated using butter.
Dark or
Shiny Pan?
Remember the
darker the finish on the pan, the faster the sheet will heat and
the longer it will hold the heat. The shinier the pan you use, the
longer it will take to heat up. Dark absorbs heat, so your bottoms
will be done more quickly then the tops or centers. By the time
your tops and centers are baked, your bottoms will be crispy if
not downright burnt. Shiny reflects heat and your cookies will bake
more evenly.
How many
trays in the oven?
Don't try to
crowd too many cookie sheets into your oven at once.. Your best
results will be one tray at a time on the middle rack of the oven
with plenty of room for the warm air to circulate around the tray.
Don't keep opening your oven to peek. Every time you do that, you
loose warmth and your oven will have to struggle to maintain the
correct temperature.
The tips and
answers that you just have read will give you a better reason to
start cooking your own cookies at home. You will find all possible
recipes in the various articles that are n the author's website.
Before baking your cookies check the website for new recipes and
ideas.
